Effects of dietary inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, ruminal enzyme activities and growth performance of buffalo calves

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of dietary inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MLM) as a substitution for soybean meal on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, rumen enzyme activity, blood metabolites, growth-related hormones, and growth performance of buffalo calves. Thirty buffalo calves eight to nine months of age with an average body weight of approximately 153.7 ± 0.97 kg were randomly distributed through three dietary treatments (ten calves/treatment). MLM inclusion rates were 15% (M15) and 20% (M20), replacing soybean meal by 50 and 75% in the concentrate mixture, respectively. The results indicated that, digestibility of dry matter, organic matter (OM), and crude fiber (CF) increased significantly (p < 0.05) with MLM inclusion, while the digestibility of crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE) reduced significantly (p < 0.05) with MLM addition. Dietary supplementation with MLM significantly affected (p < 0.001) rumen fermentation by reducing ruminal enzymes, ruminal ammonia-N, total protozoa, and acetate/propionate ratio and increasing acetic, propionic, and butyric acids and total volatile fatty acid concentrations (p < 0.001). Furthermore, dietary inclusion of 15% MLM significantly improved (p < 0.001) final body weight, dry matter intake of feed, daily weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, blood metabolites, and plasma insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I). It can be concluded that MLM is a multi-purpose protein supplement that provides some nutritional and therapeutic advantages when replacing 50% of soybean meal. Dietary supplementation of 15% MLM improved rumen fermentation, growth performance, blood metabolites, plasma IGF-I and mitigated ammonia and methane without any adverse effects in growing buffalo calves.

Effects of Moringa oleifera on Follicular Development, Blood and Metabolic Profiles of Subtropical Ewes during Peripartum

“…Several studies have been carried out to investigate the impact of M. oleifera on nutrient digestibility, blood and metabolic profiles, growth, and reproductive performances (Kholif et al, 2016(Kholif et al, , 2019Al-Mufarji and Mohammed, 2022;Al-Masruri et al, 2022). M. oleifera supplementation in animals resulted in an improvement in growth performance (Paul et al, 2013;Warastomo et al, 2021;Fadiyimu et al, 2010Fadiyimu et al, , 2016Fadiyimu et al, , 2017Abdel-Raheem and Hassan, 2021;Pandey et al, 2022), changes in milk production and composition (Kholif et al, 2016;, blood profiles (RBCs, PCV, Hb, WBCs), plasma metabolites (total protein, albumin, blood urea nitrogen) (Fadiyimu et al, 2010(Fadiyimu et al, , 2016(Fadiyimu et al, , 2017Meel et al, 2018), and reproductive performance (Barakat et al, 2015;Ajuogu et al, 2019). Little information was available on the effects of M. oleifera on blood and metabolic profiles, ovarian follicles, and CL development of Naimi ewes during the transition period in subtropics.…”

Replacing the Concentrate Feed Mixture with Moringa oleifera Leaves Silage and Chlorella vulgaris Microalgae Mixture in Diets of Damascus Goats: Lactation Performance, Nutrient Utilization, and Ruminal Fermentation

“…As previously noted, the presence of tannins in M. oleifera , nucleic acids, nitrogen-containing cell walls, and amines in C. vulgaris [ 37 ] would also be the reasons for low concentrations of ruminal ammonia-N. Moreover, M. oleifera supplementation reduces urease activity and lowers the number of protozoa in the rumen [ 10 ].…”

“…Moreover, protein in the M. oleifera leaves has about 47% rumen bypass protein [ 8 ] with a good amino acid profile [ 9 ]. A recent experiment partially replaced protein feeds (e.g., soybean and sesame meals) in the diets of ruminants with unconventional alternatives (e.g., plant leaves rich in protein) and observed increased nutrient intake and digestibility and altered ruminal fermentation (e.g., increased concentrations of ruminal acetic, propionic, and total volatile fatty acids), and improved final body weight, and daily weight gain [ 10 ]. Replacement of berseem clover with M. oleifera leaves in the diets of lactating goats improved feed efficiency and milk production [ 6 ].…”

Modulation Impacts of Moringa oleifera on Thermo Tolerance Parameters and Blood Indices in Subtropical Ewes under Heat Stress

“…The alleviation effects of M. oleifera on heat stress parameters might be due to several factors including antioxidative properties, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and regulating pathways involved in the metabolism (Elghandour et al, 2017;Roshdy et al, 2021;Abdel-Raheem and Hassan, 2021). M. oleifera leaf meal supplemented with goat and steer resulted in a significant decrease in CH 4 , ruminal ammonia-N, and total protozoal number, while an increase in CO 2 production, fermentation pH, and total bacterial counts (Elghandour et al, 2017).…”

“…Feed additives and supplementation for their antioxidant contents are used for alleviation of heat stress in small ruminants (Kassab and Mohammed 2014a, b;Kassab et al, 2017). Recent interest has grown in the use of M. oleifera for the modulation of body functions because of its macro-and micro-nutrient contents (Fahey, 2005;Razis et al, 2014;Vongsak et al, 2014;Lin et al, 2018;Afzal et al, 2020Afzal et al, , 2021Abdel-Raheem and Hassan, 2021;Giuberti et al, 2021;Al-Mufarji and Mohammed, 2022a, b). M. oleifera is an important plant rich in nutrients that are important in medicine and nutrition for both humans and animals (Oyeyinka and Oyeyinka, 2018;Gupta et al, 2018).…”